PAPER

CALVIN'S POSITION ON THE LORD'S SUPPER

CALVIN'S DOCTRINE OF THE LORD'S SUPPER AND THE PURPOSE OF THE LORD'S

SUPPER IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

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A Paper

Presented to

Professor Aaron L. Garriott

Sanford, FL

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In Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements

For

Doctrine of the Church

Words count: 1199

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by

Celso Berwanger

RBC BOX #116

APRIL 19, 2023

 INTRODUCTION

The "Lord's Supper" topic probably is one of the most debated subjects in the period of the

Protestant Reformation. This theme promoted a series of controversies and discussions to clarify

the truth behind this magnificent sacrament. In this essay, I will accurately demonstrate Calvin's

doctrine on the Lord's Supper and explain how he would understand the purpose of the Lord's

Supper in the Christian life.

Calvin's View on the Lord's Supper

The reformer believed that the Lord's Supper was a sacrament instituted by Christ to nourish and

strengthen the faith of believers, who are part of this family of faith.1 He argued that the

sacrament was a visible sign of God's grace and a means of conveying the benefits of Christ's

work to believers, similar to Baptism, sustaining those individuals who received life through the

Word.2 Calvin concluded that there is a mystery regarding this sacrament and agreed with the

words of the Apostle John in Jo 6:48-51, which says: “I am that bread of life. Your fathers did

eat manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that

a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any

man eats of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I

will give for the life of the world”.3

1
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, ed. John T. McNeill (Peabody,
MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2008), 896.
2
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 896.
3
John 4:48-51 (King James Version). Accessed April 8,
2023. https://www.bibliaonline.com.br/ara+akjv/jo/6.

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The reformer considered the bread to be truly food and the wine to truly drink; however, he

rejected the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, which claimed that the bread and

wine of the sacrament were transformed into the actual body and blood of Christ.4 Instead, he

taught that the bread and wine remained materially unchanged in substance but were spiritually

elevated to represent the body and blood of Christ.5 This position was later adopted in the

Westminster Confession of Faith in its article 29:2, which says:

In this sacrament Christ is not offered up to his Father, nor any real sacrifice made at all
for remission of sins of the quick or dead; but only a commemoration of that one offering
up of himself, by himself, upon the cross, once for all, and a spiritual oblation of all
possible praise unto God for the same; so that the Popish sacrifice of the mass, as they
call it, is most abominably injurious to Christ’s one only sacrifice, the alone propitiation
for all the sins of the elect.6

Calvin believed that the sacrament was a way for believers to receive the benefits of His saving

work and that the reprobates should not participate.7 Calvin rejected the notion that the Lord's

Supper was a re-sacrifice of Christ or had any salvific power. Instead, he taught that the

sacrament was a sign and seal of the believer's union with Christ and a means of strengthening

their faith and assurance of salvation. Calvin emphasizes that Christ's presence in the Lord's

Supper is spiritual, not physical.8 He argues that the idea that the bread and wine are physically

transformed into the body and blood of Christ during the celebration is a human invention and

has no basis in Scripture. In other words, believers benefit from Christ's death and resurrection

4
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 900.
5
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 903, 907.
6
R.C. Sproul, Truths We Confess: A Systematic Exposition of the Westminster Confession of
Faith (Sanford: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2009), 69.
7
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 922.
8
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 922.

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by faith, not by the physical ingestion of bread and wine.9 Louis Berkoph writes in his Systematic

Theology that Calvin disagreed with Zwingli's understanding of Christ's presence in the Lord's

Supper. Berkhof, like Calvin, maintained that the presence of Christ in the Supper was spiritual

and symbolic. However, Zwingli believed that the Supper was merely a memorial of Christ's

death.10

The Purpose of the Lord's Supper in the Christian Life

According to Calvin, the Lord's Supper has several precise purposes in the Christian life. It is

intended to incite us to purity and holiness of life, as well as clarity, peace, and concord.11

Furthermore, he saw the Lord's Supper as a means of strengthening and nurturing the faith of

believers. He believed that the sacrament was a visible sign of God's grace and a means of

conveying the benefits of Christ's saving work to believers. By participating in the sacrament,

believers were reminded of Christ's sacrifice on the cross and united with him spiritually. The

sacrament also served as a seal of their union with Christ, confirming their faith and assurance of

salvation.12 Secondly, the Lord's Supper promoted unity and communion in the church, which he

and Augustine called the "bond of charity." Calvin believed the Lord's Supper was a community

celebration that united believers around their shared faith in Christ.13 He emphasized the

importance of frequent participation in the sacrament to maintain the church's unity and

9
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 922.
10
Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2018), 653.
11
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 925.
12
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 926.
13
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 926.

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strengthen the bonds of love among the brothers and sisters in the heavenly community.14 He

believed that the celebration of the sacrament was a form of remembrance that believers should

partake in frequently to remember Christ's suffering for his people.15

CONCLUSION

In summary, Calvin's doctrine on the Lord's Supper emphasized that this sacrament is a way to

strengthen the faith of believers, transmitting the benefits of Christ's work to those who were part

of the family of faith. He rejected the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and affirmed that

the bread and wine remained materially unchanged but were spiritually elevated to represent the

body and blood of Christ. The reformer taught that the Lord's Supper marked Christ's sacrifice

on the cross and that its purpose was to strengthen the faith and unity of believers with Christ. He

also emphasized the importance of preaching the Word in coexistence with the sacrament,

teaching that both were inseparable for understanding and receiving the benefits of the Lord's

Supper.

14
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 925.
15
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 929.

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 Bibliography

Berkhof, Louis. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids, Ml: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2018.

Calvin, John, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, ed. John T. McNeill,
Hendrickson Publishers, 2008.

Sproul, R.C. Truths We Confess. A Systematic exposition of Westminster Confession of Faith.

Sanford, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2009.

King James Version. https://www.bibliaonline.com.br/ara+akjv/jo/6. (Accessed April 8, 2023).